Rumors
by Lania26
Summary: Sirius Black is chasing after a girl. He can't believe it. And to make matters worse, she's dating his best friend: James Potter. What's a sexy marauder to do?
1. James and Lily

Rumer Cunningham walked down the front lawn of Hogwarts, determination and annoyance written across her face. She had been looking for James Potter for nearly half an hour and was beginning to grow impatient.

After leaving the Headmaster's office she had been told to look on the Quidditch pitch for a Mr. James Potter who was supposedly the Head Boy and a member of her house, Gryffindor. But when she had gotten to the pitch he had already left.

Since then she had searched almost the entire castle, from the dungeons to the astronomy tower, and gotten lost countless times before finally swallowing her pride and asking for help. She had then been directed to the front lawn, and now she was searching intently for a messy-haired boy wearing glasses. _I swear, if he's not here I'll…_but her thoughts were suddenly cut off as she finally spotted him.

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Boys and girls alike stopped what they were doing to watch the gorgeous blonde who was walking purposefully towards the lake, but Rumer took no notice of them, her attention solely upon the boy who was at that moment being told off something fierce by a pretty redheaded girl.

"For the last time, Potter!" she heard the girl shout, clearly frustrated. "I will NOT go out with you! I wouldn't go out with you even if you were the last man on Earth and the world was populated by sheep! In fact, I would choose the sheep before I'd ever choose you!"

"Then I guess having my children is completely out of the question?" the boy asked innocently; which earned a cry of outrage from the girl as she lunged at him. Two of his friends, clearly expecting this, however, grabbed her before she could reach him and held her back as she struggled to reach James.

"Told you she wanted me, Padfoot," James said cockily to one of the boys who was holding Lily back, earning a bark-like laugh from the boy and a renewed effort from Lily, who somehow managed to break free and tackle James.

They wrestled on the grass for a while before James finally managed to pin her down underneath him. "Geez Evans," he began in mock outrage. "I mean I knew you liked me, but still… we haven't even had our first date yet."

Lily glared up at him angrily, still struggling against him. "Get off of me."

"What's the magic word?"

"Please," she muttered grudgingly.

"Sorry?" James laughed. "Didn't quite catch that."

"Please," she repeated, slightly louder.

"Nope, that's not it. Try again."

"Pretty please?"

"Good try, but I'm afraid that's still not exactly what I was looking for. Actually… it's more of a sentence than a word," he said grinning broadly.

"I am NOT going out with you. Get it through you thick skull."

"Come on Lily. Just say yes. It'll be fun," James begged.

"James Potter," Lily began in a warning tone. "If you don't get off of me right this instant I swear I'm going to scream bloody murder."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh I would."

James frowned at her for a moment. "Alright, alright," he said, as he got up and brushed the dirt off his robes. "There's no need to get so upset."

"No need to get upset?" Lily cried, drawing out her wand and pointing it at a very startled looking James. "That's it, I've had enough! If you even come within five feet from me for the rest of the year I swear I will hex you into oblivion. Do I make myself clear?

James nodded slightly, eyeing the end of her wand warily.

"Good," Lily shouted before marching back up to the castle.

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"What is it with her?" James asked quietly, starring after the retreating redhead.

"Well," I began, taking pleasure at watching the four boys jump. "I'd say she thinks you're a bit of a jerk." They stared at me for a moment, mouths open, as I desperately fought to keep a smile off my face.

"Wh-Who are you?" a small mousy haired boy stammered, staring up at me in awe.

I smiled sweetly at him, causing him to blush, before answering. "Oh. I'm Rumer Cunningham. I just moved here from the U.S, and I start school here tomorrow. Professor Dumbledore told me to talk to James Potter. I guess that's you," I asked, turning back to James.

James, however, didn't respond. He was still staring bug eyed at me.

"That is your name isn't it?" I heard his friends snigger in the background.

"What?" he asked snapping out of his reverie. Then continuing in a deeper voice, "Oh yeah, I'm James Potter. Don't know why Dumbledore would send you to me though."

"He said you were Head Boy or something and that we were in the same house."

"You're in Gryffindor then?" another boy asked.

I was about to reply, but as I turned to the speaker I suddenly felt my mouth go dry, because standing before me was the single most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. He was tall, probably around six feet, and very fit, not too muscular and not too thin. Black hair hung almost to his shoulders and he had to most amazing eyes, blue flecked with grey. Or was it the other way around? Suddenly I realized that I was staring, and I felt myself blush. _When was the last time a boy made me blush? Hmmm…never! _

"According to that hat," I said, hoping my Californian tan would hide my embarrassment.

"Oh. Do you mean the sorting hat?" asked a boy with sandy blonde hair.

"Yeah, I think that's what Dumbledore called it," I replied. "I just put it on my head and it said that I should be in Gryffindor."

"That's the sorting hat alright," the blonde boy said with a slight smile. "I'm Remus Lupin by the way, and that's Peter Pettigrew," he said indicating the mousy haired boy.

"And _I_ am Sirius Black," said the dark haired boy, flashing me a very sexy smile.

If any of his friends thought anything about him flirting with a girl he had barely known for five minutes, they didn't let on. In fact, it was clear that this was typical Sirius behavior.

"Are you all in Gryffindor then?" I asked.

"Yeah," James answered.

"Where you nervous about being sorted?" Peter asked.

I couldn't help but laugh. "No, not really. I don't really understand the big deal about these houses, so I didn't really care which one I got into."

"Well you're lucky that you got into Gryffindor," said James. "We always win everything."

"The House and Quidditch Cup," Remus supplied.

"Oh," I said. "What about the other houses?"

"Well, Slytherins are a bunch of pureblood fanatics," said Sirius, with a touch of bitterness in his voice.

"The Ravenclaws all think their smarter than everyone else," added James.

"And Hufflepuffs are just plain duffers," joked Sirius.

"Hey!" cried Peter.

"Oh yeah, sorry Pete. I forgot you were still going out with that one Hufflepuff girl."

Peter just laughed, "It's alright, Sirius. Sometimes I forget too." Everyone laughed at this.

"Well," said James finally. "I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat." And with that we headed to the great hall.


	2. The Great Hall

**Oh yeah, I previously forgot to mention that I own nothing. Happy? **

When we entered the hall I was completely overwhelmed. There were so many people there already, chatting away with each other, and for the first time in my life I was actually worried about where I was going to sit.

"Don't worry," a warm breath whispered in my ear, seemingly reading my thoughts and making me shiver. "You can sit with us."

I smiled up gratefully at Sirius, who smiled flirtatiously in return. Then, taking my hand in his, he led me over to a long rectangular table that was already halfway full.

I noticed that as he led me to our house table a heavy silence seemed to have fallen on the room. Students turned around in their seats to get a better look at the two of us, and one boy actually fell out of his seat trying to look up my skirt. Girls wore open expressions of envy and dislike; while the boys just stared slack jawed. In the silence of the room I could clearly hear the whispers shared between some of the people we passed.

"Who is she?"

"She must be new."

"Are Sirius and her already together?"

"What a slut!"

"Who? Sirius or her?"

"Well her obviously."

"Do you see what she's wearing?"

"Any shorter and I could see her" I looked over at Sirius who was trying very hard not to smile, though when I caught his eye he grinned, obviously unable to control it any longer.

"This is all your fault," I said.

"How is this my fault?" he asked bewildered.

"If you weren't so good looking none of this would have happened. I have clearly upset your fans."

Sirius just laughed.

"Really, if looks could kill I'd be dead right now."

"Probably."

"You're very full of yourself. Aren't you?"

"Of course," he said with a smirk.

"That's it. I've had enough of you for one day," I joked. "It was very nice to meet you Sirius Black, but I see some people who are just dying to meet me." And with that I took a seat by the redheaded girl I had seen by the lake.

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I watched her start up a conversation with Lily before sitting down about ten feet from her, and across from an already seated Lupin.

"You two looked like you were getting cozy there for a moment," Remus noted. "What happened?"

"She said she'd had enough of me," I said, smiling a little at the memory.

"She really said that?" James asked.

"Yeah."

"Wow," Peter sighed in awe. "She told you, Padfoot."

"Maybe, but the year has just begun," I said knowingly. "If only I could get rid of Marietta."

"Didn't you tell her you loved her just last week?" Lupin asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't really _mean _it. I just wanted to…you know."

"Get in her pants," supplied James.

"Exactly."

"Don't you think she'll be hurt when she finds out you were just using her?" asked Lupin.

"She might be," I answered, feeling slightly ashamed. _Damn Lupin for being so thoughtful all the time. I'm young. I just want to have a little fun. A little fun never hurt anybody. _"But this is _me _we're talking about here. Every girl that goes out with me knows the risks. I'm Sirius Black for Christ's sakes."

"Here, here!" said James, raising his glass mockingly.

"Oh shut up, Prongs."

After a few minutes, Lupin decided to break the silence. "What _are _you going to do about Marietta?"

"I dunno," I answered truthfully. "I guess I'll just tell her that I'm not ready for a serious relationship. You know? The usual."

"Well, you'd better figure it out quickly."

"Why?" I asked confused.

"She's coming this way."

I turned around in my seat, and sure enough, there she was, walking over to sit by me.

"Hi everyone," she said happily. I looked over at her and noticed that she was positively beaming. Without waiting for an answer-not that she would have received anything more than a slight hello- she went on. "Did you hear about the new girl?"

"Er," mumbled James and Peter uncomfortably.

"I heard she's from America," Marietta went on in an awed voice. "And that she's absolutely gorgeous. Is that true?"

This received even more uncomfortable muttering from the boys-Sirius included- who was starring fixedly at his breakfast.

"Oh, she must be," Marietta laughed happily. "Think of everything that she can teach us."

"Teach us?" Lupin inquired. "Like spells and stuff?"

At this Marietta burst out into a fit of giggles. "Of course not, silly. I was talking about makeup, hair care, clothes, that sort of thing."

"How silly of me," muttered Lupin under his breath.

"Oh, it's alright Remus." Marietta said soothingly, patting his hand like a child's who was trying to understand something that was beyond him. "You didn't know." After a brief pause Marietta went on, taking her hand off of Lupin's. "So, have you met her yet?"

"Yeah," James said. "Her name's Rumer Cunningham."

"Wow. What's she like?"

"Beautiful," sighed Peter.

"Smart," said Lupin.

"Funny," I added.

"Can you introduce me?" she asked, looking up at me.

I didn't really want to, but looking into her hopeful, blue eyes I realized that there wasn't really any other option. "Yeah, Sure."

"Oh Sirius, you're the best boyfriend ever!" she said dramitcally, kissing me on the cheek.

"Er… right. Well she's only a few feet down from us." I mumbled as I lead her over to meet Rumer.

When I got to where she was sitting, I noticed that several people had gathered around her, hanging on her every word. She was talking animatedly, obviously telling a story, and upon seeing her, I once again came to the realization that she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

She was taller than most girls, and thin, with tanned skin and long, honey-blonde hair that fell midway down her back. She had the kind of long, toned muscles that other women spent hours at the gym trying to achieve, and absolutely amazing legs. Her face was all harmonious curves; high cheek bones, full lips, straight nose, and highly expressive chocolate eyes that were framed by long, dark eyelashes. Everything about her was perfect, and although she seemed aware of how attractive she was, she didn't shove it in your face. _Well, she hasn't yet. _At the sight of me, her face lit up and she flashed me a smile.

"Back so soon?" she joked.

"Well I could hardly stay away," I replied, getting lost in her warm brown eyes. I'm not sure how long we stayed that way, staring at one another, but in the back of my mind I heard someone clear their throat.

"Sirius? Sirius?"

"Hmm," I mumbled, tearing my eyes away from hers.

"Weren't you going to introduce us?" asked Marietta, confusion knitting her brow.

"Of course," I said quickly. "Rumer, I wanted you to meet my… friend Marietta."

"It's nice to meet you Marietta," she replied warmly. "Would you like to sit down?"

"I'd love to," Marietta said happily, squeezing into the small space that the others had made grudgingly for her.

"What about you, Sirius?" Rumer asked.

"Oh, I'm going up to the common room," I said, knowing that if I stayed I'd probably just end up staring at her. "I'll see you later."

"If you're lucky," she replied mischievously, before turning back to her adoring fans.

I glanced over at Marietta, hoping she hadn't noticed anything, and for once my prayers were answered. She was gazing at Rumer with a look of unconcealed wonder. It was almost sickening. _But her brains were never her best feature. _

I met up with the rest of the Marauders at the foot of the staircase, but I didn't really join in on the conversation. I was too busy thinking about Rumer and what it would take to hook up with her.


	3. Water, Water, Everywhere

O. K first of all I would like to thank my reviewers; Padfootz-luvr, Aleeah, disaster-strikes-again, and Lillyskywalker3. I am so glad that you like the story, because I really enjoy writing it.

**Lillyskywalker3: **Don't take this the wrong was but I have no clue what you were trying to say in your review. It just wasn't very clear. But yes I do plan on continuing the story even though HBP is out. That's why I started writing this fanfic in the first place. I thought HBP was a bit too depressing.

**Padfootz-luvr:** I am ecstatic that you like the characters. I made Remus sort of the responsible, thoughtful one of the group, because that's how I felt he was portrayed in the books, and I'm really glad you like him.

If I ever seem to go out of character w/ him or any of the others, let me know. Really, constructive criticism is welcome.

And if I _was _J.K I **never, ever** would have killed off Sirius. But then again I probably wouldn't have thought up the whole series in the first place so I guess it's better this way. 

Alright, on with the story…

Chapter 3: Water, Water, Everywhere

I woke up with a start and looked around, trying to grasp my location. Everything was dark and for a moment I panicked, pulling my covers back over me until I was completely sheltered beneath them. _Wait, covers? _

"God, I'm such an idiot," I muttered aloud, throwing off my covers and pushing black my heavy curtains. The room was still dark but not the oppressive blackness that I was so afraid of.

"This is ridiculous. Only five-year-olds are afraid of the dark."

"Mmmmm," mumbled Lily in her sleep.

I looked at the clock, unsurprised that it was 6:30. I had always been an early riser, especially when I was plagued by nightmares. My heart was still beating about twice its normal rate and my legs were itching to run, so I decided to give in. I changed into some shorts and a sports tee before lacing up my tennis shoes and exiting the dorm.

The common room was empty and so where the halls, to which I was grateful. I didn't feel like explaining myself to anyone, especially teachers. _What would I say to them? Oh, I'm sorry Professor but I just thought I'd take a quick run, seems how I'm seventeen and still afraid of the dark. Yeah right. I'm sure that would go over well._

_If only these dreams would go away. I would be fine if I didn't keep having these stupid dreams. But they'll never go away_, a voice at the back of my mind nagged. _Never…_

_No, that's not true. They could go away; I haven't always had these dreams. When I was little I didn't have them. _I thought back to the last time I had slept peacefully. _It was my birthday, my eleventh birthday, and I was having a sleepover. We stayed up late watching scary movies, and by the time we finally fell asleep it was already the next day. After all of my friends went home my mom gave me a card, assuming that it was just a late birthday card. That was the day I found out I was a witch. I haven't slept good since. _

I shook my thoughts away, taking in the beautiful scenery, and falling into the rhythmic steps of the run. This was my favorite part, when I lost feeling and just went with it. When I was like this I could forget everything, for a little while anyways.

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By the time I'd finished my run and decided to head back up to the common room, the sun had already risen and the great hall was growing more crowded by the moment. _It must be breakfast time._ I took the staircases at a run, hoping that I had enough time for a shower.

"Where have you been?" Lily asked when I reached the dorm room. "It's nearly 7:30."

"Yeah I know. I went for a run."

"Why?"

I didn't want to tell her that I couldn't sleep so instead I said, "I wanted to watch the sunrise."

Lily gave me a skeptical look but didn't press the matter, which I was grateful for. Our other roommate Laura, who until that time had been applying a heavy layer of makeup, glanced up at the clock.

"You do know that school starts at eight, right?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm gonna go take a quick shower." Then as I made my way down the stairs I called back over my shoulder, "If I'm not back by five till leave without me." I knew they wouldn't leave me but it never hurt to be polite.

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"Padfoot wake up."

"Go away," I mumbled grumpily, returning to my dream. I had just got to the part where the female vampires were… er, having their way with me.

"That's it. Remus get the water."

_Water? Oh sh!_

But it was too late.

"Shit James! That was cold!" I bellowed, having just been thoroughly drenched.

"Well what were you expecting?" James asked between laughs.

"Not that!"

"You obviously don't know us very well then," gasped Peter who was laughing like a hyena.

At that I just sniffed as dignifiedly as possible in my current situation, which just made them laugh harder. Even Remus threw reserve to the wind and joined in. I grabbed my wand, dried myself, and headed down to the showers.

"Bloody gits," I mumbled under my breath.

"Excuse me?" a voice asked humorously.

I opened my mouth to explain, but the words I had been about to speak seemed to disappear instantly. Rumer was standing there--naked. O.K she wasn't _fully _naked, but it was pretty close. And damn she looked good.

She was dripping wet, wearing a white linen towel that emphasized her golden tan, and nothing else.

She leaned in, and I felt my breath quicken. We were so close that I could smell her hair.

"Sirius?" she whispered seductively.

"Hmmm?"

"You can close your mouth now." And with that she walked away, leaving behind a faint scent of mango.

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I had been told that History of Magic was boring, but I hadn't really paid much attention to the warning. And now I wish I had.

If I had listened I could have brought something to occupy myself. Even a crossword puzzle or a book would have been a welcome distraction. But me, the history buff, just had to think that _all _of those people who had warned me were exaggerating.

And so here I am, bored out of my mind with nothing to do but stare out the open window and imagine myself outside in the warm sunshine, instead of sitting in History of Magic listening to Professor Binns drone on and on about the goblin wars.

I looked down at the untouched notebook in front of me. Lily had said that I would need it, for notes I guess, but everything that Professor Binns talked about was in the book. So writing it down in my notebook was hardly necessary. _A waste of a good tree if you ask me. _

I had meant to ask Lily about the notebook and why it was so important that I took it, since she had practically forced it on me on our way to class, but just then the bell had rang and we had to take our seats.

I turned around in my seat hoping to get Lily's attention from across the room, but she was fast asleep. _Everyone is asleep_, I thought sulkily. And for the most part it was true.

Over half the class _was _asleep, and some of the students at the back of the room had even transfigured their textbooks into pillows. As I turned around to get a better look at these people I noticed that the person directly behind me was not only awake but was also staring straight at me. And that person was Sirius Black.

"Hey," I whispered.

"Hey," he whispered back.

"Is it always like this?"

"By "this" do you mean incredibly boring?"

"Yeah."

"Pretty much."

"Oh."

"We could blow it off and go somewhere."

"Wouldn't he notice?" I asked, indicating the Professor.

"Binns? Of course not. He didn't even notice he'd died."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm always Sirius."

"Ha ha," I laughed sarcastically. Then I added, "Where would we go?"

"Oh, I know a place," Sirius replied meaningfully.

"This wouldn't happen to be the broom closet, would it?" I'd been at Hogwarts less than a day and I already knew that's where people went to make out during classes.

"You wound me," he whispered back in an offended voice, clutching his chest in mock heartache.

I just laughed before turning back around in my seat.

I looked up at the clock and realized there were only a couple more minutes of class left. _Thank God. I thought this class would never end. _

"You never answered my question," Sirius whispered in my ear, causing me to jump.

"And what question was that?" I hissed back, a little annoyed that he had scared me so easily.

"The one about ditching class."

I smiled sweetly and shrugged my shoulders as the bell rang. Not even waiting for his reply I grabbed my books and headed for my next class: Potions.


	4. Veritaserum

Chapter 4: Veritaserum

"I wonder why James isn't bothering me." Lily mused aloud, turning around to see where he was in the crowded hallway.

"You told him not to come within five feet of you." I reminded her.

"Did I?" she asked absentmindedly, still trying to locate him.

"Yeah. I think you threatened to curse him into oblivion if he did."

Lily laughed and turned her attention back to me. "I had forgotten about that. Besides, he never listens to me."

"Well he is now."

"I know and I wish I knew why. He must be planning something?"

"Planning something?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, he does it all the time. He'll pretend like he's all sensitive and caring for a day or so, trying to win me over I guess, and then he'll just go back to being his childish, arrogant self. It never fails."

"Amen," added Katie, with a teasing smile.

"Oh shut up, Katie," Lily said, though she sounded more annoyed than angry. This was clearly an old argument. "I wouldn't talk about James so much if he ever left me alone."

At my confused face Katie laughed. "I think that Lily secretly has a thing for James," she explained.

"Shhh!" Lily hissed, before looking over her should to confirm that no Marauders were nearby. "Potter would have a field day if he heard that."

"You like him?" I asked incredulously, remembering the girl who had yelled so fiercely at him by the lake.

"Of course not," Lily snapped angrily, before quickening her pace to the dungeons, leaving me and Katie to trail along behind her.

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"Come on James. We can still catch up with them," I called over my shoulder, my attention focused on the slender blonde who had just turned me down.

"No Padfoot, you go ahead," James said before returning to his conversation with Remus.

I stopped walking—much to the displeasure of those behind me--and spun around to face James. "Merlin, are you finally over Lily?" I asked, half disbelieving and half hopeful.

"Christ Sirius. You think you could say it any louder?" James laughed.

"So you're over her then?" I asked in a quieter tone.

"Of course not, Padfoot. I've just decided to respect her wishes and stay away from her for a while. She'll be begging me to go out with her in no time."

"James, you've tried this before. It never works!" I tried to reason.

"That's true, but you've overlooked something, Padfoot my friend."

"And what is that _oh brilliant one_?"

"This time I have a plan," James said smugly.

"And this plan would be…?"

"You'll see, Padfoot ol' buddy. You'll see," James answered as he entered the classroom.

_That's it. James has finally snapped. _

I took a seat at my worktable and laid my head down on the cool surface. _First, I'm woken up by having freezing cold water poured on me. Then, I see Rumer in just a towel and I cant even think of anything clever to say, Next, she turns down my offer to ditch History of Magic, and now James is off on one of his crazy plans of how to win Lily's heart._ _Today has been a very disturbing day._

Just then I heard the chair beside mine scrape against the dungeon floor, signaling that my partner had also taken her seat. _Great, just great!_

"If it isn't my icle cousin."

"Ahh… Narcissa," I said, not even taking my head off the table. "I would say that it's nice to see you, but I never was good at lying."

"No, you were never good at anything. Were you Sirius?"

_Touché. _At this point I looked up from the desk and into Narcissa's sneering face.

"Well being a Malfoy has certainly perfected your sneer, Cissa darling," I said, using Bellatrix's nickname for her which I new she detested.

She pretended not to have heard my comment, but I thought I detected a slight flush spread up her ivory cheeks.

"Oh yes, I had almost forgotten," she began coldly. "Your display of affection in the great hall yesterday caused quite a stir. You'd better start being more careful about how much attention you show mud-bloods. Next year you won't have your precious school to protect you."

"What exactly are you suggesting, Narcissa?" I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew. "This wouldn't have anything to do with that creep Voldemort, would it?"

"I would watch your words if I were you cousin," Narcissa warned. "Not even the Black name will protect blood-traitors like you."

I began to comment on her barely veiled threats but was cut off by Professor Slughorn clearing his throat loudly.

"Quiet down class. Quiet down. Today we start making Veritaserum, which as you all should know takes one month to complete and is incredibly complex. Therefore you and the other person at your table will work as partners and share responsibility for the potion." At this several people groaned, me included, and I stole a glance at James's table.

At first his expression was completely blank, and his eyes darted from Professor Slughorn to Lily to Professor Slughorn and back to Lily.

"Excuse me sir--maybe I heard you wrong--but did you just say that we would be partnering with the person sitting beside us?" he asked uncertainly.

Professor Slughorn smiled fondly at James and Lily. "You weren't mistaken, Mr. Potter. Miss Evans and you _will _be sharing responsibility of the Veritaserum. Now, as I said Veritaserum is a very complex potion and both partners will need to contribute equally to— Professor Slughorn continued explaining the directions for the potion, but I tuned him out and instead looked over at James.

He looked like Christmas had come early, and was running his hands through his already messy hair. When I caught his eye I motioned writing a note and he nodded, grabbing a quill and a spare piece of parchment.

I turned away and a moment later watched as a ball of paper fell between my arms on my desk.

J- Today is easily the best day of my life.

S- Better than that time with the triplets?

J- Much.

S- Really?

J- Definitely.

S- Wow. I didn't think anything could top that.

J- You just wait.

S- Wait till what?

J- Till you fall in love.

S- I should have known it was something like that.

J- Really Padfoot, you scoff now, but it's the best feeling in the world.

S- Well, I don't think Lily feels the same.

J- Why do you say that?

S- She looks like she could chew nails right now.

J- Isn't she cute when she's angry?

S- Whatever you say Prongs.

J- Professor Slughorn is looking at us. We'd better stop now.

S- You do realize that you just tossed this to me to tell me to stop.

J- Yes. And your point is?

S- Well, it was a very stupid risk to take. Don't you think?

J- No not really.

S- Well it was.

J- He really is looking at us you know.

S- THEN STOP TOSSING IT TO ME, YOU PRAT!

J- Geez! No need to get offensive.

S- I'm stopping this now. Don't feel the need to write back.

J- Oh I won't.

S- You just did.

J- Slughorn is coming this way.

S- I can see that James! I do have eyes you know.

J- Hmm… I never noticed before.

S- James we're gonna get caught. Eat this!

J- The note?

S- Yes the note!

J- You eat it.

S- No you.

J- You.

S- Just eat it!

J- O.K

I was about to write back to tell James that he didn't need to reply, he just needed to eat it, but then a shadow fell over my desk and I knew it was too late. So I did what I had to. I ate the note.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Mr. Black?" asked Professor Slughorn angrily.

"Err…having a snack?" Then upon seeing his face I added, "Shall I stay after class then?"

"Yes, I think that would be wise."

"Right."

When his back was turned I shot James a venomous look.

"Who, me?" he mouthed. I didn't even reply.

The rest of the class I spent in silence, copying down the directions for Veritaserum. And when the bell rang I reported to Professor Slughorn's office to receive my punishment.

* * *

Oooh. It's kinda a cliffhanger.

So what is James's plan? What is Sirius's punishment? And who is Rumer's partner? You'll just have to read the next chapter to find out.

Oh and I apologize for the lack of SiriusxRumer action but I promise the next chapter will be better.


	5. James and Rumer

Sorry about not updating sooner, but I was very busy last week. Shopping for school and everything.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad you all liked it and I hope this one is as good or better.

**Potpoury**: Yes, her name _is _a bit of a pain, but I wanted it to be something like a celebrity's baby name. Like Apple, or Coco. As you've probably noticed I don't use her name much in the story. I usually just use she, or her, or something.

**Lillyskywalker3**: Oh. lol. I see what you meant now. And yes, I did like HBP, but not as much as the other HP books. I was hoping for something happier (and for Sirius to come back) and it was much darker and more depressing than the others.

**Isley**: My favorite part of the story was the note, too. It was the easiest part to write actually. And it was the most fun. So don't worry, you didn't belittle my writing at all.

About Narcissa being a Malfoy… I probably should have given you a little back story or something, but Narcissa and Lucius got married over the summer. I might bring it into conversation later on, just to shed some light on it.

And in chapter 2, I also noticed that I changed point of views, but I'd already posted and I didn't think it was a big enough problem to re-post the chapter. But thanks for telling me. And please continue pointing out my mistakes because I'm definitely not perfect, and sometimes I need help.

**Everyone**: I just want to know what you think about Narcissa. Do you like the way she is portrayed and stuff like that?

And can anyone tell me what Mary Sue means?

In my story Professor Slughorn is the 7th year potions teacher only. That's why the Marauders haven't had him before.

Chapter 5:

I looked at the small, muggle clock on Professor Slughorn's desk. He'd been gone for nearly five minutes and it didn't look like he was coming back any time soon, so I decided to take a look around his office.

The room was square shaped, small, and very cluttered. One wall was completely covered in signed pictures of young witches and wizards, and as I walked over to get a better look, I recognized a few faces.

There was a picture of Victoria Ashworth, who had been Head Girl a few years back. I remember this only because we'd had a lot of err…fun up in her tower during Winter break.

Then, there were pictures of the Ashby twins, Heather and Hannah, who were smiling and blowing kisses at the male occupants in the pictures beside theirs.

I recognized Greg Barton, who had been James's Quidditch coach in our fourth year. James thought he was God. Seriously, he _still _raves about him. A bit annoying, really.

There were pictures of Celia Cromwhell, Eva Aldaine, Brigitte Landon, and Shannon Sullivan, who had been my very first shag. I smiled down at her picture fondly. _Maybe I should send her a Christmas Card. _

Just then the door opened, and I was snapped out of my happy memory. I turned around, hoping that Professor Slughorn wasn't too angry at me for looking at his pictures, and was completely surprised when I realized he was smiling.

"I see you've noticed my pictures, Mr. Black," he said, pointing at the many glittering photograph frames.

"Yes, Professor, they sort of drew my attention."

"Indeed they do," he replied.

"Are they all former students?" I asked, although I already knew they were.

"Yes, I taught them all, Mr. Black," he said, smiling fondly at the pictures. "They're all important witches and wizards now."

"Thanks to you, Professor." It made me a little sick to my stomach sucking up to this walrus of a man, but if it kept me out of detention it was worth it. A full moon was coming up.

"Oh, I only gave them a bit of a boost into the world," Professor Slughorn replied in an attempt at modesty, though I could tell he was secretly flattered. Just then he seemed to remember why I was there and cleared his throat loudly before continuing on in a slightly more serious tone. "Do you know why you are here, Mr. Black?"

_Of course I know why I'm here, you idiot. _

"Yes, Professor. I misbehaved in class," I recited politely.

"Good, good," he said with a smile. "Then you are free to go."

"Sorry?" I asked before I could stop myself.

At this Professor Slughorn laughed. "You know what you did wrong, Mr. Black, and I'm sure you won't do it again; therefore you are free to go."

"Oh." I began to walk slowly towards the door, confused by his complete turn around. "No detention, then?"

"No detention."

"O.K, well bye I guess," I said, quickening my pace before he changed his mind.

"Ah, I almost forgot."

_Here it comes. _

"I'm having a little party for some of my best students Friday. Would you be interested in attending?" I didn't really want to go, but I couldn't say no to a teacher who had just done me a huge favor.

"Yeah, sure I'll come. Sounds fun." I replied with false enthusiasm.

"Great, Friday at eight." "And tell Potter," he added.

"Alright, well see you there then," I said as I hurriedly exited the office.

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When I walked into the common room I instantly spotted Peter and Remus playing wizard's chess near the fireplace, and so I went to join them.

"Checkmate," Remus said cheerfully.

"How many is that now?" I asked.

"Four."

"Only four? Remus are you losing your edge, or is Peter getting better?" I asked.

"A little bit of both."

"Thanks, Remus, but you know I'm terrible," Peter said unhappily. "Remus and James were playing, but James left. We've only been playing for a little while."

"Oh. Where is James anyways?" I asked, looking around the room.

"Talking to Rumer about something."

"Why?" Just then my eyes alighted on them. They were standing very close together in the far corner of the common room, whispering about something. Rumer had her back to me, and over her head I could see James giving her the puppy dog eyes. The same eyes he used on his mother whenever he wanted anything. Women couldn't resist its powers. James had told me so.

_Why is James giving _Rumer _the puppy dog eyes? He fancies _Lily. _And besides, he knows that I'm working on Rumer. _

After a few more minutes they stopped talking and Rumer went up to her dormitory, leaving James, who was grinning like an idiot, alone.

"James, what the hell?" I yelled across the almost empty common room.

He just smiled excitedly and sprawled out across one of the large, burgundy couches. Peter, Remus, and I all took seats on nearby armchairs and waited for James to speak.

It didn't take long.

"I asked Rumer out," he said simply.

For a moment, the entire common room was completely silent. Even the fire ceased to crackle.

"You what!" I bellowed.

"I asked Rumer out," James repeated.

Remus groaned, "James please tell me this isn't Phase 1."

"Phase 1?" I asked, completely confused. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks to the head. "Merlin James!_ This_ is your amazing plan? You're going to try to make Lily jealous by using Rumer!"

"Er… well… that _was _the plan, yes," he answered uncomfortably.

"Does Rumer even know you're using her to get Lily," Remus asked, disgusted.

James jumped up from the sofa, now equally disgusted. "Of course she knows. What kind of a man do you think I am?"

"A desperate one, obviously," I mumbled under my breath.

"Excuse me?" James asked dangerously.

"You heard me."

"O.K that's enough," Remus interrupted before things could escalate between us. "James why don't you explain this whole thing to us."

James continued to glare at me for a moment and then sighed wearily and sank back down on the couch. "I didn't think you'd all take it so badly."

"I think it's a great idea, James," Peter chirped.

"You would," I muttered.

Remus gave me a warning glance before turning once again to James and giving him an encouraging nod.

"Well, what do you want to hear?" he asked.

"Just start from the beginning," Remus said in his most soothing voice. I swear, sometimes I feel like Remus is our shrink or something. You'd never guess that he's the one that becomes a monster once a month.

"Alright," James began, cutting across my thoughts. "Today in History of Magic, I was bored out of my mind--you know--but I couldn't really sleep, so I was just thinking about Lily and everything. And I was thinking that there had to be some way to make her like me, because what I'm doing now obviously isn't working."

At this I snorted. _Really, Prongs? I thought it was working terrifically._

Remus shot me a reproachful look, but James continued on like he hadn't heard.

"And I was thinking about all the things I had tried so far, and I realized that I had never made her jealous. And it seemed like such a simple thing to do. I mean why had I never thought of that before? Then I saw Rumer. She was laughing at something Sirius had said, and I knew that she was perfect. So tonight, after Lily had left, I went and talked to her. I told her about my situation with Lily and I asker her if she would consider helping me in making her jealous by pretending to date me. At first she said no, but then I told her about how much I cared for Lily and that I thought Lily cared for me too. But that she was too stubborn to see it. And after that Rumer agreed to sleep on it and tell me her decision in the morning."

He looked up at me, guilt and sadness in his hazel eyes. "I'm sorry Padfoot. I didn't think about you when I talked to Rumer. I just figured that she wasn't important to you, you know. And you're still going out with Marietta and everything so… anyways, I'm really sorry."

It's all but impossible to stay mad at James, so by this point I wasn't even remotely upset. "It's alright, Prongs. You're right. She's not important."

"No Padfoot. I'll tell her the plan's off. It was inconsiderate of me to even ask in the first place."

"Don't be silly. There's plenty of time for Rumer and I to hook up. And besides, if this finally gets you and Lily together, I'm all for it."

"You mean it?"

"Of course. No girl is worth our friendship," I answered truthfully. _Not even a gorgeous blonde with a killer body. _

"Ahem," said Remus clearing his throat loudly, a small smile playing about his face. "I hate to interrupt this little love fest, but are we done here?"

"Yeah, because I'm really tired," added Peter.

"When are you ever _not _tired?" James asked humorously.

I laughed. "Ah, leave Pete alone, James. I'm tired too. This whole 'talking about your feelings thing' is exhausting."

"Spoken like a true man," said Remus.

"Was there any doubt?"

"Well you looked like you were about to kiss James up there," he joked, which earned him a sofa cushion to the head. "Hey!"

"How dare you insult Sir Sirius Black Esquire?" I asked in mock outrage. "Off with your head!"

It was a good twenty minutes later when we finally crawled up the dormitory stairs, too tired to even contemplate what the next day would bring.

I know I promised more RumerxSirius action, but I re-wrote this chapter and made it more of a "platform" for the next chapter.

It was a bit hard to write but hopefully it turned out alright.

Read and review!


	6. A Conversation with Katie

**Padfootz-luvr**: Aww… I'm so glad you reviewed again. For some reason your reviews always make me happier. :)

And thanks for telling me what Mary-Sue means. One reviewer said that Rumer was a bit Mary-Sue-esq, but she said it in a really nice way and I wasn't offended at all. lol. Actually, in most books that I read the main female character is Mary-Sue-esq so it doesn't really bother me. (Symphony of Ages anyone?) :)

And about the whole Sirius being about to kiss James thing… I didn't mean that that would make him any less manly; I just meant that he was getting all lovey dovey with James and Remus decided to call him on it. But believe me; I have nothing against homosexuality or anything. Whatever floats your boat, in my opinion. And if anyone was offended I am very, very sorry.

**To all my other reviewers: **I would address you all personally but it would take a lot of time and I'm trying to get this chapter out as soon as I can, (though I know it doesn't seem like it.) But thank you all sooo much and I hope you like this next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 6: A Conversation with Katie

"James Potter is such an ass," I mumbled angrily as I climbed the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

"_But he's so cute," my mind argued. And sweet, and adorable, and sincere, and lovable, and…_

"And a huge ass!"

"Geez Rumer, I mean I know I'm fat, but do you really have to announce it to the world?" Katie asked humorously from the top of the staircase.

"Sorry Katie, I didn't know you were there."

"Ah, so you admit you were talking about me?"

_Ha! If Katie is fat then I'm the pope. _"Of course I wasn't talking about you."

Katie laughed. "Oh I know," she assured. "You were talking about James."

Had I been drinking something at that moment I would have sprayed it everywhere, so I guess it's good for Katie that I wasn't. Instead I just stood there with my mouth hanging open—much like Sirius's had earlier, I thought amusedly. "Katie, are you psychic?" I finally managed.

"Are you implying that I like girls?"

"What? No! I was asking if you could read the future, not if you like girls." _British people are so clueless sometimes. _

"Oh, well according to Professor McAllister I _do_ have a bit of a knack for divination. Why?"

"Because you knew that I was talking about Potter before I told you," I explained.

Katie smiled slyly. "Oh that wasn't divination, that was more—shall I say it—investigation."

"You spied on me!"

"Shh," Katie hissed, pointing at the door to our dorm room. "Do you want to wake Lily up?" Then, without waiting for my answer, she sat down on the top step and pulled me down with her. "And no, to answer your question, I wasn't _spying_. I was just… curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," I whispered ominously.

"No, curiosity made the kittens."

"Hmmm… I've never heard that before."

"Well now you have."

"I guess so."

"Right."

We sat in silence for a minute before I remembered what I had meant to ask her. "Katie, what made you so curious about James and me?"

She laughed. "Well it was pretty obvious, don't you think? James barely even knows you and as soon as Lily gets up to leave he asks to talk to you privately? Come on, a sqrewt could have told you he was up to something."

"Well Lily didn't seem to notice."

"That is true, but you have overlooked one thing."

"Oh?" I asked. "And what is that?"

Katie smirked. "The fact that Lily spends so much energy ignoring James; she couldn't possibly appear to—God forbid—hear him speak. That would completely destroy her uncaring image."

"Katie, do you really believe that Lily likes James? Even after everything she says to him?"

"Yes, Ithink she does," she answered absentmindedly. After a moment she shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts, and asked the question that I was dreading. "So what did you and James talk about?"

"_So what did you and James talk about?" _That question, phrased so innocently, carried so much weight. He'd asked me out, but not because he liked me, but because he wanted to use me to get to my friend. I had never been so insulted in my life. O.K… that was a lie. My mom named me Rumer for Christ Sakes, of course I'd heard worse. But this was still low. I mean Lily is my friend. Lying to her like that could destroy our friendship. Then again, James seemed so genuinely sweet and in love with her, and Lily wouldn't even give him the time of day. I was torn between the two.

"Any time now," Katie prompted.

I sighed wearily. "He asked me out." I closed my eyes and waited for the exclamations of anger, or disgust, or whatever it was that she was going to say, but nothing came.

_Oh God. It's worse than I thought. She's speechless. _

Slowly, I opened my eyes and turned to look at her face, dreading the furious expression that I knew I would see there.

So needless to say, I was completely shocked when my brain finally registered the goofy grin playing about her mouth.

"Merlin, he finally did it," she said in awe.

"Finally did what?"

"I never thought I would see the day," she continued as if she hadn't heard me. "He's finally found a way to make her jealous."

"Yeah, by using me!" I yelled. I mean I was usually the one who did the using, not the other way around. This was plain insulting.

"Shhh!" Katie hissed, before continuing in a whisper. "Don't you see? This has nothing to do with you. He's finally realized that Lily wants a challenge, and that the only way to get her attention is to make her jealous."

"So you think I should go along with this plan?" I asked uncertainly.

"Of course."

"But what about Lily? Won't she be mad?"

I watched as Katie's goofy grin became a mischievous smirk.

"What Lily doesn't know can't hurt her."

I felt my own smirk forming and was powerless to stop it—not that I would have anyways.

"Are you're in?" she asked.

"I'm in," I answered. "But you have to swear not to tell anyone about this, especially not Lily."

"Do I look stupid to you?" Katie asked. Then upon seeing the look on my face she laughed. "Alright, don't answer that. But yes, I swear not to tell a soul, though James has already told the Marauders, that's for sure."

_Hmmm…the Marauders. Let's see, Lupin would never tell, Peter he might slip up—we'll have to talk to him—and Sirius…What _would _Sirius do?_

"Oh my God, Katie. I just got an idea."

"What is it?" she asked excitedly.

"I just realized that this is the perfect opportunity to make Sirius jealous."

"But you practically have him eating out of the palm of your hand already," she asked, her voice confused.

"I know, but you know what I learned today?"

"What?"

"He's still going out with Marietta."

"No!"

"Yes."

"And he's still been hitting on you?"

"Oh yeah."

"That is low."

"My thoughts exactly."

"And he's going to break that poor girl's heart."

"But not if we break his first."

Katie smirked. "You are so bad."

I grinned evilly. "I know."

* * *

Alright, well that's the chapter. Kinda short I know, but as **Isley** pointed out… Rumer's thoughts and motives needed to be explained.

And no, Rumer is not really evil. She is just having fun with the thought of driving Sirius crazy.

Well tell me what you think. R&R


	7. Relationships

**Padfootz-luvr**: As you can see, I took your advice on the title. I really think it will help. And I can't believe that you defended my story. That really means a lot to me.

To everyone else who reviewed Chapter 6; **Potpoury**, **VisionGurl **(I'm so glad you like Rumer), and **Lilyskywalker3** (I really am trying to add some RumerxSirius action, but my chapters are so short. But I promise to work on it.)

* * *

Chapter 7: Relationships

"Merlin, Padfoot. You look like hell," exclaimed a voice from over my shoulder.

I looked up in the mirror at James, and as much as I hated to admit it, he was right.

My eyes were puffy and red and my hair was going every-which-way from a restless sleep night's sleep. A restless sleep caused, in part, by the fresh faced boy standing beside me who seemed completely oblivious to the reason for my bed-head.

"Remind me of why I'm your friend again?" I asked as I prodded the purplish-blue circles under my eyes.

"Now, now Padfoot. Don't get your broomstick in a twist," James said in his chirpy, morning person voice. "You're my friend because I was the only one who would take you."

I snorted. "Yeah, you and the entire female population."

"Well there is that," James agreed humorously. "But I don't think that even your crazy fan club would want you based on how you look right now."

"True."

"Do you want me to send Moony in? He's an expert with this sort of thing."

I looked back at my haggard reflection in the mirror and shrugged. "Yeah, send him in. He can't make it any worse."

James laughed. "That's agreed."

"Get out!"

"Alright, alright. I'm going."

"Good. And don't let the door hit you on the way out."

"Why would I?"

"It's just an old saying."

"Well it's a crap saying if you ask me."

"I guess it's a good thing that I didn't ask you then, isn't it?"

"If you say so."

"Well I do."

"Great then."

"**Just go get Moony!"**

"Alright, I'm going. There's no need to shout."

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A few minutes later Moony entered.

"James said you needed my help. Rough night, I take it?"

I smiled. Leave it to Moony to understand. "Yeah, I didn't sleep too well."

"Dreams?"

"More like nightmares."

He laughed. "Did they happen to be about James and a certain blonde?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Sorry Padfoot, but yeah it is pretty obvious."

"Really?"

Remus nodded.

"Do you think that she knows?"

"She might, but I still think you should talk to her. And Marietta for that matter," Remus added.

"I'd completely forgotten about her," I admitted sheepishly.

"I thought so."

This made me laugh. "Moony do you know everything?"

"No, not everything," he replied. "But I do know that if you don't let me hurry up and fix those circles under your eyes we're going to be late for breakfast, and you will miss your chance to speak with Rumer."

"Right," I said, the urgency of the situation donning on me. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

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"Wakey, wakey eggs and bakey."

"Go away," I mumbled as I sunk farther down into my pillow.

"I'm not going anywhere until you get your butt out of bed."

"Mmmmm."

"Ugh, that's it," Katie said as she viciously ripped of my covers. "You are getting up, you are getting ready, and you are going to like it."

I made an attempt to snatch back my covers, but Katie was too fast.

"Just give me five more minutes," I begged.

"You've already had five more minutes four times now. It's time to get up. You want to look perfect for your big day, don't you?"

At this my eyes snapped open and I sat up quickly, looking around the room for Lily or Laura. If either of them had heard that the plan would be ruined.

Katie seemed to read my thoughts. "Don't worry. They went down to breakfast ten minutes ago."

I let out a breath I didn't even know that I'd been holding. "God Katie, don't do that to me."

"Well it got you out of bed, didn't it?"

"Why you little--!"

"Ah-ah-ah. No swear words from you, missy. Now that you have a boyfriend you'll have to be on your best behavior."

I ran a hand through my thick, blond hair. Yesterday I'd been single and loving it, and today…? Today I was pretending to date a boy just to make my friend jealous. Wow, when you put it that way it sounded terrible.

"Don't go second guessing yourself," Katie advised, cutting through my thoughts. "You're doing the right thing."

"Am I really?" I asked, not at all sure.

Katie sighed and sat beside me on the bed. "Rumer, the way I see it, everyone in this world has a soul mate; but sometimes, if they are too stubborn to see it, that person will pass right out of their life and they will never, truly experience love the way it was meant to be. James is that person for Lily, but she just doesn't want to believe it. It is our job to _make_ her believe it before it's too late."

"That's deep, Katie."

"Well I'm not stupid, you know."

"Could have fooled me," I joked.

Katie pretended to scowl at me. "One more insult from you and I'm not going to tell you about that great curling spell I just learned."

"Ha, don't you know that curls are out?" I asked, looking pointedly at Katie's auburn ringlets.

And that's how I got a pillow to the head.

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Ten minutes—and several detangling spells later—we made our way down to the great hall for breakfast and Phase 2 of "The Plan."

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Remus nudged me when Rumer entered the hall, but there was really no need. I had spotted her a full minute before.

She was wearing her regular school uniform: short, pleated skirt, collared white shirt, and a pair of very unconventional heels that no doubt every other girl would own within the week. But the thing that caught my attention the most, and I do admit that the skirt cause me a bit of a pause—I am a guy after all—was her hair, which at the moment was cascading down her back in loose curls.

How I longed to run my hands through those silky curls.

I shook my head, clearing away my thoughts and began to rise from my seat. _It's now or never. _

"Good luck." I heard Remus whisper.

"I'm Sirius Black, I don't need luck," I replied.

He just shrugged.

I got up and started to walk over to where Rumer was sitting, but before I had take two steps I turned back to Remus.

"Moony," I called.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

He smiled and it reached his eyes, making them glow. "Any time," he said. And I knew he meant it.

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"So there I was, trapped under an invisibility cloak in my sister's bedroom while her boyfriend and her made out the entire night. It was horrible. I think I'm going to be scarred for life," Katie concluded dramatically.

I knew it wasn't meant to be funny, but Katie's story about sneaking into her sister's room to borrow her new skirt and ending up having to listen to them all night _was_ pretty funny.

"Sounds like a nasty predicament," said an all too familiar voice from over my shoulder. "Especially for one with _virgin ears_."

"Oh, hello Sirius," Katie replied humorously. "I didn't know you were stalking me this early in the morning."

"Actually, I'm not here for you Ashmore. I wanted to speak with Rumer."

"Well whatever you have to say to me, Black, you can say in front of Katie," I said, turning to meet his beautiful blue-grey eyes.

He smiled at me and I felt heartbeat quicken and my cheeks flush. _How does he make me blush when no one else can?_

"First of all, please call me Sirius," he began. And second, I would prefer to speak with you alone."

I shared a look with Katie and got up from the table, following him out into the hallway. I expected him to stop outside of the doorway to the great hall, but he didn't. He kept walking, waving and smiling at people as they passed, and all the while leaving me to follow a few steps behind him, like a dog trailing after his master.

"Sirius, where are we going?"

"Don't worry," he said, turning his head briefly to flash me a sexy smile. "We're almost there."

And true to his word, we stopped outside a door a few seconds later.

It was a plain wooden door, like thousands of others in the castle, and I would have likely passed it up had Sirius not been leading. As he reached towards the tarnished bronze handle I felt myself holding my breath, waiting in anticipation for what would be revealed on the other side.

His hand seemed to move in slow motion and my thoughts whirled around me. Where was he taking me? Was it somewhere secret? Somewhere that only the Marauders knew about? Somewhere magical where all your wishes were granted?

The door began to open and stretched up onto my tiptoes, trying to see past his tall frame and into the room.

I had been expecting a lush garden, filled with trees bearing golden apples and bright, botanical flowers, but what I got—well what I got was a broom closet.

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"It's a broom closet," she said disappointedly.

"What, were you expecting Eden?" I asked, causing her to blush prettily. _I love it when she blushes. _

"Well no, but I still can't believe you brought me to a broom closet."

"Hey," I said, stroking the walls fondly. "Some of my best memories are in this broom closet."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Well I can tell you right now that this isn't going to be one of them."

"It could be," I whispered seductively, stepping closer to her.

"In your dreams, Black."

"How did you know?"

She laughed and also took a step closer. "You dream about me?"

We were now only about an inch apart, and I could feel the heat radiating from her body and smell her shampoo. I lowered my face a little closer to hers. "All the time."

"Oh?"

"MmmHmm."

Our lips were only a couple of inches apart now, and I leaned in to close the distance.

"I'm going out with James," Rumer said suddenly.

I could tell she was trying to divert my attention, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I'd been waiting for too long.

"I know," was all I said as I began to lower my lips to hers once again.

She pressed herself against the wall and turned her head to avoid my lips. "Well doesn't that bother you?" She demanded.

"Not really," I admitted as I began to kiss her exposed neck.

Her hands came up to rest on my chest and I smiled into her neck. _No woman can resist me. _

But instead of unbuttoning my shirt like I had expected, she pushed me away.

"Well it bothers me," she said as she stepped outside and closed the door, leaving me alone in the darkness.

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Well, there you go. Hopefully you all enjoyed it (It took me forever to write) :)

Now review, pretty, pretty please.


	8. The Broom Closet

**Sirius**

I stood there alone in the dark. The closet seemed somewhat colder than it had before.

"Must be a draft," I said aloud, but a voice in the back of my head disagreed with me. _It's because _she's _gone, _it said, and I knew it was true. I got this feeling when I was around Rumer. She made me feel nervous and excited and important all at once. I liked that feeling… no I _loved _that feeling. Flashes of color flew across my eyes, making me dizzy. I slid down the wall until I felt the solidness of the floor beneath me.

"When did I start thinking about love?" I asked the empty broom closet. Its silence only furthered my thoughts. _I can't love Rumer. I don't even know her. Besides love only hurts you. _Images of my family flashed through my eyes. _I wanted them to love me, _I thought bitterly, _and where did that lead? They blackballed me from the family all because I had the nerve to be sorted into a "mudblood" house, just because I made friends with one. _At this my thoughts turned to James. _Now that's love. Maybe not the romantic sort, but it's a brotherly love. And James loves Lily. He _truly _loves her, not the sort of raging hormonal love that I have for Rumer. He loves everything about Lily. I know he does, _I thought ruefully, _I've heard him say it enough. If Lily is what he really wants then I'll put my selfish thoughts of Rumer away and let them play their little game. I'll give Lily no cause to suspect this is another of James' plans. _

My excitement was returning. I was beginning to feel like myself again, not the morbid Sirius I was swiftly becoming. I stood up quickly and felt my way blindly to the door. I opened it and the room was flooded with light from the hall.

A little ways down the hall I met James, he had the Marauder's Map in his hands and a slightly worried expression oh his face.

"Padfoot, I was looking for you," he called out. "Wormtail and I were worried when you missed breakfast. You _never _miss breakfast."

"No, I'm fine," I replied. "Just needed some time to think."

James nodded his head, not meeting my eyes.

I looked up at the large clock hanging from the entrance of the dining hall. "Well Prongs we'd better hurry if we want to make it to class," I said, starting towards the stairs.

James, however, didn't move. He just stood there shuffling his feet. "Sirius," he began softly.

I turned around quickly, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but he was watching his feet and I missed the expression in his eyes.

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing about Lily?" he continued. "And about Rumer?" he added.

This was so different than the cocksure James that I was used to that I was stunned into silence. James, seemingly taking this for a "no" went on in an even more forlorn voice.

"I mean I know it's wrong, me lying to Lily, but she never pays any attention to me, except to tell me when I'm being a big-headed prat, and that's not what I want. But sometimes when it's just me and her she'll look at me and she doesn't look disgusted or annoyed, she looks amused and… I don't know… something else. And that's what makes me think that she does really like me, or maybe it's that she could like me, you know? If she really got to know me and everything? And nothing has ever worked before and then Rumer comes to our school and she's prefect and she's willing to help." He trailed off them and finally looked up at me to try and gage my reaction. Not seeing anything in my face he went on. "But you like Rumer, and I knew you liked Rumer but I asked her anyways, which makes me a bad friend."

"You're not a bad friend James," I said. "Me and Rumer are nothing, but you and Lily could have something special. And I really do believe that."

"You do?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I do. So don't worry about me and Rumer. Everything will work out between us, you just worry about that redhead, ok?"

"OK," he replied, sounding more like the old James.

"Good. Now lets get to class before we get detention. Remember you have to be well behaved if you want to win fair Lily's heart," I warned.

"Oh that's right," James said thoughtfully. "Do you think I can do it?"

"It will be difficult," I admitted humorously as we began to head for class. "But with enough practice, fortitude, and extreme acts of self control you should be able to manage." Then as an afterthought I added, "You do know this means you will have to stop cursing Snivellus, don't you?"

James swallowed as if he were fighting the urge to throw up, but managed to keep walking. "Yes, I came to that conclusion earlier. It's going to be difficult."

"Yes well remember my motto."

"A way to a woman's heart is up her skirt?"

"Merlin, no James! That's not even mine. Where do you come up with these things?" I didn't wait for an answer. "What I was going to say is 'What Lily doesn't know can't hurt her'."

We had reached the classroom door so I got a full view of James' mischievous grin as he turned to open it. "Padfoot you just reminded me of why we are such good friends," he said before assuming a much sweeter facial expression to greet Lily with."

My own smile lasted only a few seconds as I caught the scent of mango in the air and the sight of pretty blonde curls. I just fully realized that today was Tuesday and this was History of Magic class, where I was seated behind the person I least wanted to see right now, Rumer Cunningham.

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I didn't see Sirius walk into class as so much as feel him. He has this presence, this aura, and no matter how hard I try to ignore it I feel myself drawn to him. That's why it took every bit of self restraint to keep facing the front of the class instead of turning to watch him like every other girl in the class. I mean honestly, don't these empty headed bimbos have any will power. It's pathetic. Just because his coal black hair is always falling perfectly in front of his sparkling blue-grey eyes, and just because every inch of him screams 'sexy' doesn't mean they have to _drool_ over him. He's not _that_ good looking!

"Rumer what are you looking at?" asked a male voice with a crisp English accent.

"Nothing!" I said a bit too defensively as I found myself facing none other than Sirius Black. _How am I looking at him? I was turned around in my seat._

He smiled in that way of his and I wanted to slap that self assured smirk off his face. "You couldn't possible have been staring at me could you?" he asked in what I guess he thought was an innocent voice.

"That's ridiculous," I replied. "Who would stare at you?"

"Who indeed," he answered, gesturing around the room at all of the girls who were watching him with slightly dazed expressions.

_I told you. Those girls have no self respect whatsoever. Lily is the only one who wasn't infatuated with him it seemed, and that didn't even count for much since she was asleep._

"Whatever," I countered weakly, knowing that I had lost the argument.

I could have been mistaken but it seemed like he glanced at Lily asleep on her pillow before continuing. "I love it when you talk all American," he whispered.

"Oh please. You disgust me, Black."

"Are you so sure about that?" he asked, but before I had time to answer I felt a slight tap on my wrist and I turned to see Mr. Binns, world's most boring teacher, floating before me.

"Mrs. Cunningham could you please turn around in your seat," he asked in his monotone voice. "You are distracting Mr. Black."

With some effort I managed a nod and faced the front of the class again, at least till he turned away. As soon as he did I turned around to see Sirius shaking with silent laughter. I stuck my tongue out at him. It wasn't very mature but I don't care. He deserved it.

The rest of the class seemed to pass over the span of a lifetime. I felt my eyes getting heavy and I finally gave into temptation and laid my head down on my desk. Only a few minutes had passed before I felt a insistent tapping on my back. I turned around slowly in my chair, giving Sirius my patented death glare.

"What do you want?" I hissed.

"Look at your notebook," he whispered back.

"Why?"

"Just do it," he insisted.

"Fine."

I turned back around and opened the notebook. To my surprise it was no longer blank.

S- Hello darling.

R- Sirius?

S- None other.

R- How did you do this?

S- Oh I'm just talented like that.

R- No really?

S- Fine. I snitched this notebook from Evans. It's one of those kinds from Zonko's that lets two people talk to one another by writing in them.

R- I see.

S- James told me everything by the way.

R-What are you talking about?

S- Oh don't play innocent with me. You know what I'm talking about. He told me about his plan to use you to make Lily jealous.

R- _Use_ me?

S- Well what else would you call it?

R- It's more like a collaboration between two people who care about the well being of someone.

S- Nicely put.

R- Thank you.

S- But that doesn't change anything. What are you getting out of it?

R- I just told you. I want James and Lily to be happy.

S- You barely know James or Lily.

R- I know that they are perfect for each other.

S- Yeah join the club. Everyone knows that except them.

…

S- I still think you're getting something else out of this.

R- Well I'm not.

S- O.K. Just promise me one thing.

R- What?

S- Promise me you'll never go into a life of organized crime, ok?

R- Why?

S- Because you're terrible at lying.

R- Whatever.

S- I told you I love it when you talk all American. Why must you torment me so?

R- You are so annoying. Has anyone ever told you that?

S- No not really. I usually get hot, sexy, cool, amazing. You know, that sort of thing.

R- You are so conceited!

S- I do my best.

R- I'm leaving now.

S- No you're not.

R- Ohh? You think you know me good enough to decide when I'm going to leave or not?

S- Well you didn't leave did you?

R- You know even on paper you come off as a complete ass.

S- Now, now. No need to get so touchy.

R- You started it.

S- What is this, first year?

R- Yeah well if you're so mature then why didn't you tell me Binns was right behind me?

…

R- Sirius?

…

S- Sorry, I was just laughing. I couldn't help but remember the look on your face when you glared at me.

R- Who's in first grade now?

S- That would still be you, actually.

R- The bells about to ring you know. You'd better give this book back to Lily.

S- Speaking of which, from now on when you flirt with me you need to be extra careful that no one is around, ok?

R- When I flirt with you? Are you serious?

S- Haven't we been over this before? Yes, be careful when you flirt with me. If you and James are going to continue with this charade it might as well work.

R- Alright, whatever. I'm going to go now. Bye.

S- Goodbye my love. See you in…let's see…five minutes.

R- seven.

S- Same thing.

R- Seven and five are two completely different numbers.

S- Honestly Rumer, if you're so desperate to talk to me that you bring up math… I guess it's worse than I thought.

R- Goodbye now Black.

S- Please call me Sirius.

….

S- Rumer

…

R- What?

S- Just checking. Bye.

I know I've been absolutely HORRIBLE but hopefully this update will make it up. Thanks for all you who kept reviewing after MONTHS of no new updates. I love you all and after this I hope you all love me too. Peace.


	9. Snape

I was doodling aimlessly on the parchment in front of me when my lab partner slid quietly into the seat next to me. I hadn't paid much attention to him the previous day because I had been so distracted by Sirius and James' note passing extravaganza, but I couldn't help but take stock now.

He was slightly unhealthy looking, with sallow skin and greasy black hair that obscured most of his face. When he shifted in his seat, his hair fell back from his face and I saw that he had a large, hooked nose and the darkest, most fascinating eyes I had ever seen. I thought that they were brown at first, deeper than my own, but as I looked closer I realized that they were in fact black. I came to this conclusion when I noticed that I couldn't distinguish where his pupil ended and his iris began. They weren't, however, flat like I would have expected black eyes to be, but they seemed deeper than the deepest well, a true window to the soul. I could see the emotions battling inside them; confusion, disbelief, anger, and above them all, pain. I was entranced and I probably would have continued searching those alien eyes for quite some time, but at that exact moment the girl behind me broke out in a fit of coughing and my attention was shattered.

He was looking at me now. I shifted back in my seat, blushing brightly when I realized just how close I had been sitting. _He probably thinks I'm a freak_.

Just then, Professor Slughorn began explaining the procedure for making veritaserum, and I had never been so happy to do schoolwork in my life. Twenty minutes later, I was definitely much less happy as the lecture droned on and on. I glanced at my partner out of the corner of my eye and was happy to see that he looked just as bored as me. He too was doodling in his book, filling the margins with cramped, messy writing. _Probably writing poetry,_ I thought to myself; he certainly did look like the starving artist type, a la Edgar Allen Poe. I began trying to recall the poems I remembered, trying hopelessly to pass the time.

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

That was all that I could remember and then something about a raven, saying nevermore. Since my memory was failing me, I began sketching a raven sitting atop a doorframe. I was so engrossed in my drawing that it took me a few minutes to realize that the rest of the class was moving around the room, gathering supplies needed for the potion.

I looked over where my partner had been sitting, but he was no longer there. I searched the room for him and saw that he was collecting supplies like everyone else. _Way to be a complete failure, Rumer. Make your poor lab partner take care of everything. _I looked around our table searching for anything that I could do to be helpful, and I realized that our cauldron had not been heated yet. I set to trying to start a small fire under it, but even that was hopeless since I had never actually used a cauldron before. I looked around the room, staring enviously at the other groups' already lit fires. My eyes met those of Sirius Black's and my desperation must have been glaringly apparent because he began immediately making his way across the room, towards me.

"You okay?" he asked.

I just shrugged my shoulders and gestured toward the empty cauldron. "I don't know how to start it," I muttered grudgingly.

He laughed, obviously taking pleasure in my discomfort, but he hid his smirk as soon as he saw the murderous look in my eyes. "It's ok. You've probably never used one of these before, have you?" he asked.

When I shook my head, he smirked again, but quickly began explaining the process of filling the cauldron and lighting it.

It was incredibly easy after he'd explained it and I was completely relieved that I wasn't a failure after all. "Thank you, Sirius," I said, after I'd started it once completely on my own. "I felt so dumb for a minute."

He laughed. "It's alright. That's how we all were our first day too. James actually set Lily's hair on fire the first time he attempted it."

"You're joking."

He laughed again, clearly enjoying sharing this piece of information with me. "No it's true, I swear. Her hair was flaming red."

"Ha. Ha." I laughed sarcastically.

"I mean it was red hot, if you catch my meaning."

I groaned aloud at this play on words. Lily's hair was always red because she was, after all, a redhead.

I looked at James and Lily's table across the room. They were arguing as usual, Lily's face almost matched her hair it was so red and James looked just as flustered. As I was watching Lily threw her hands up in exasperation and stalked angrily over to Katie's table. James was left staring after her, his brows drawn together in confusion.

"And so started their love affair?" I asked, gesturing towards the now lonesome James Potter.

Sirius watched his friend with an unidentifiable expression on his face, before refocusing his eyes on my own. "Well that's what started James' infatuation with her, and Lily's less that flattering opinion of him."

"Don't you like Lily?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's a cool girl and all. I just don't see what all the fuss is about. There are hundreds of girls in this school, so why is she the only one he sees?"

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe it's love."

Sirius smiled too and ran his hands through his perfectly tousled black hair. "Well that's what he keeps telling me anyways. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to my table before Lily notices just how long we've been talking. She might get suspicious when James tells her about the two of you later."

"That's true," I agreed halfheartedly. Oddly, I didn't want him to leave.

Sirius must have noticed my hesitation because he smiled his patented, sideways smirk before winking at me and walking away. As he reached his table, I couldn't help but notice the gorgeous icy blonde sitting beside him. "Bitch," I muttered under my breath.

"Sorry?" asked a voice directly behind me.

I turned and saw that it was my lab partner, watching me curiously with those fantastic eyes.

"Not you," I quickly apologized. "Her." I gestured towards the snooty, gorgeous blonde.

He just nodded before quickly set to work chopping up some gooey looking thing and adding it to the smoking cauldron.

"Is that the blastula?" I asked curiously.

He nodded infinitesimally, still cutting.

I looked at the instructions in my book. "Do you want me to add those when you're done and stir for, let's see, 6 minutes?"

He shook his head to the left and then the right. _No._ "I'll do it."

"It's ok. I can do it," I replied, trying desperately to be helpful.

He just shook his head again, barely seeming to hear me.

"I'm not stupid you know." My voice sounded petulant to my own ears.

He looked up then and replied with surprising clarity. "I know. It's just that I usually don't go by what the book says."

"That's fine," I replied. "We are partners though. We're supposed to work together."

He nodded.

"I'm Rumer by the way."

"Severus."

"Severus," I said, tasting the strange name on my tongue. "I like it."

I wasn't sure, but I could have sworn that he smiled slightly before turning back to the cauldron.

"Alright. Finish chopping up these and put them in the cauldron. Carefully though," he cautioned. "Don't splash any water on you. It's almost boiling by now. Stir for 4 minutes, switching directing every 30 strokes. I'll be right back. I need to go grab some more supplies."

I nodded, grateful to have something to do now. Normally I would have looked around the room, checking out how everyone else was doing. This time though, I tried to focus solely on the task of stirring the cauldron. I was worried that I would get distracted and lose track of strokes, ruining the whole experiment. After 4 agonizingly slow minutes, I finally took a break from the constant stirring and rested my now sore arm on the table. I looked around for Severus but he was nowhere to be seen. That's when I noticed his Potions book, lying open on the table. Much of the original text had been crossed out and replaced with directions, what I had thought was poetry, earlier. I flipped through the pages, examining the writing. Like on the previous page, most of it was edited directions for the potions we had made in class, but some of the words had nothing to do with potions at all. They almost looked like spells. I was bending down closer, trying to read his messy scrawl, when the book was jerked out from under my eyes, the cover slammed shut.

Severus was glaring at me, his face livid. He looked angry, obviously, but also embarrassed, and it reminded me of the time I caught my brother looking at naughty magazines. Sure enough, there was definite fear of rejection in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to remain calm in order to communicate that I didn't think he was weird just because he was a potions genus.

But he only looked angrier.

"I was just looking for more directions. I'd finished stirring," I said, indicating the merrily bubbling cauldron.

He exhaled through his nose, obviously trying to regain composure.

"It was an accident," I amended. "It won't happen again. Scouts honor."

He looked confused at that last part but he didn't question me. Instead he took a few more cleansing breaths and began working on the veritaserum again.

We spent the rest of the class period working in almost silence. We only spoke when he gave me curt directions, and the book stayed by him at all times, out of my reading range.

When Professor Slughorn dismissed class an hour later I was incredibly grateful. My lab partner swept out of class, his robes billowing after him, without a word.

I sighed and turned away from our simmering potion, noting that it looked much lighter already than any other groups. After I made sure that everything was put away properly (It was of course, thanks to Severus), I made my way up to the smiling James Potter, who was eager to be seen with by his side. At 

this thought I couldn't help sighing again, if I had learned anything since coming here it was that nothing was ever as it seemed.

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Hey guys I'm back after 2 years. I know, I know. I don't know why I wanted to start writing again, but I have this desire to finish this story once and for all. I know that my interpretation of the characters, as well as the writing style, has probably changed quite a bit so I apologize for any confusion if this chapter doesn't quite match up well with the others. Well I hope you like it. -Lainia


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